Monique DiCarlo was born in the Netherlands in 1965. In 2000, she moved to the US and is currently based in Northern Virginia. As a young girl, she roamed the neighborhoods and parks, armed with her first camera, a Pentax ME Super,  looking for the unexpected. She encountered quite some "lost" shoes and always wondered how that person would walk home and explain their bare feet.

 

During her studies at the Willem de Kooning Academy of Fine Arts in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, she mainly used black-and-white photography. She focused on nature images during hikes around Europe. In 1989, she received her BA in photography and graphic design.

 

Her work is primarily composed of nature, still life, and what she refers to as "objet trouvé" (found object) images. She is inspired by photographers such as Brassai, André Kertész, and Josef Sudek. She aims to capture the transient, the untold story, making the unseen seen.

 

One of her leaf portraits adorns the cover of the book "Totally Unique Thoughts" by Mike Dooley, one of the teachers featured in the movie "The Secret." Her "Leaving Leaves" series was featured in a group exhibition at the Children's Studio School's Urban Arts Complex in Washington, DC. For several years she volunteered at the global event called Help-Portrait, providing people in need with a portrait image free of charge.